The state-level visit to Germany by State President Truong Tan Sang from November 24-26, 2015 was of historic significance in the bilateral relations, promoting the Strategic Partnership between the two countries and the two-way trade turnover to 20 billion dollars in the next five years.

The Vietnamese leader was welcomed at Tegel Airport by head of the Presidential Office of Germany David Gill, Deputy Chief of Protocol under Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Konrad Arz Von Straussenburg, Vietnamese Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung, the Vietnamese Embassy’s staff, and ambassadors and charge d’affairs of ASEAN countries in Germany.

German President Joachim Gauck receives his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang. Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNAThe welcoming ceremony for State President Truong Tan Sang is held solemnly with a 21-gun salute
at the Presidential Palace. Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA

State President Truong Tan Sang holds talks with his German counterpart Joachim Gauck. Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA

State President Truong Tan Sang meets with his German friends. Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA

During the talks with German President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel, the two sides defined directions and concrete measures to promote their strategic partnership in the future, especially cooperation in trade-investment, science-technology and education-training. Germany affirmed its support for Vietnam to promote comprehensive cooperation with the EU, including the conclusion of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Many cooperation opportunities were also given at the Vietnam-Germany Business Forum held in Frankfurt, serving a new impetus to boost the bilateral trade flow. The two sides agreed to promote their trade volume to 20 billion dollars and German investment in Vietnam to 5 billion in the next five years.

Related to regional issues, German leaders and experts expressed their concerns over the increasing reclamation of artificial islands in the East Sea that threatens peace, stability, aviation security and safety in the East Sea and supported Vietnam’s viewpoint to address any disputes through peaceful means and in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
They also agreed on the urgency of building a Code of Conduct (COC) on the East Sea.

The Vietnam – Germany trade relationship has grown in recent years, reaching 7.8 billion dollars in 2014 from 4.1 billion dollars in 2010, making Germany Vietnam’s biggest trade partner in the EU and accounting for 19 percent of Vietnam’s total trade with the bloc.

Vietnam and Germany signed six cooperative documents, including
an agreement on allowing relatives of members of diplomatic representative agencies to hold paid jobs in the other country; a governmental agreement on science-technology cooperation; a protocol revising and supplementing terms of the 1994 aviation transport agreement; an MoU on forestry cooperation; an MoU on regular dialogues between the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the German Business Association and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam; and a technical service contract on maintaining A320 aircraft engines between Vietjet Air and Lufthansa Group.